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Kotalik, Miller lead Sabres to shootout win

Jan 20, 2007 - 5:53 AM BUFFALO, New York (Ticker) -- Ales Kotalik has been in a bit of a goal-scoring slump. But he came through when the Buffalo Sabres needed him most.

Kotalik scored in the fourth round of the shootout and All-Star goaltender Ryan Miller made the goal stand as the Sabres rallied for a 4-3 victory over the Vancouver Canucks.

Entering with just two tallies in his last 10 games, Kotalik failed to convert during regulation. But with the shootout tied after three rounds, the Czech deked Dany Sabourin and backhanded the puck over the goaltender to give the Sabres a 2-1 lead.

"I went to the backhand, faked the shot to the right, then went to the left," Kotalik said. "I've done that before. I tried it again, and it worked."

"He faked me on the left," Sabourin said. "I didn't have enough momentum to push back where he went. I have to learn from that goal."

Miller preserved the win by denying Vancouver captain Markus Naslund with a right pad save.

Jason Pominville and Paul Gaustad also scored for Buffalo, while Taylor Pyatt and Jan Bulis tallied for Vancouver.

Pyatt, who spent the previous four seasons in Buffalo, tied the game at 1-1 at 4:28 of the first period. While on the power play, he picked up a loose puck at center ice, raced in on a breakaway and beat Miller to the stick side.

The left wing, who has 13 goals this season, has scored in four consecutive games. But he was not satisfied with any personal accomplishments.

"It was disappointing, but we played hard tonight in the last game of a long road trip," Pyatt said. "We got quite a game from Dany Sabourin. He stepped up and played tremendous for us. It's definitely tough to lose in a shootout."

After seeing their 2-1 lead vanish early in the third period, the Canucks moved back ahead at 7:58 on Naslund's power-play goal.

Defenseman Kevin Bieksa unleashed a slap shot from the neutral zone, and the puck caromed off the end boards to a streaking Naslund, who tipped it past Miller from the left side of the net.

With Miller pulled for an extra attacker, Buffalo forged a 3-3 tie with just 40 seconds left in the period. Defenseman Brian Campbell fired a shot from the top of the slot that deflected off Pominville.

Canucks blue-liner Sami Salo attempted to bat away the puck, but instead banked it off Chris Drury and past Sabourin for the equalizer.

"I put my shot straight on the net and waited to see what happens," Campbell said. "I wanted to go to Al (Kotalik), he was open. They took that right away. I knew guys were crashing to the net, so I just threw something up there and see what happens."

Pominville had a goal and an assist for Buffalo, which held a 17-8 shot advantage in the third period. The right wing, who has 21 tallies, entered with only one in his previous seven games.

Sabourin, who made his first start since a 2-0 loss in Boston on December 21, made 33 saves for the Canucks. Vancouver, which had its three-game winning streak snapped, lost for only the second time in its last 12 games.

Miller stopped 25 shots.